Aberrant static and dynamic functional connectivity of auditory processing in migraine: A millisecond-scale magnetoencephalography study

This study aimed to characterize frequency- and latency-dependent network dysregulation in migraine using magnetoencephalography (MEG)-based static and dynamic functional connectivity analyses during auditory stimulation. Thirty interictal migraine patients and 30 matched healthy controls underwent whole-head MEG recordings during a lateralized auditory task. Static and dynamic functional connectivities were calculated using the corrected amplitude envelope correlation in seven canonical frequency bands (delta 2–120 Hz). Group differences were examined using nonparametric permutation tests, with false discovery rate and Bonferroni correction applied to account for multiple comparisons. Static functional connectivity abnormalities were confined to high-frequency bands (low-gamma, 30–59 Hz; high-gamma, 60–90 Hz; and ripple, 90–120 Hz), showing enhanced frontal-limbic and cross-hemispheric connectivity in migraine patients (Cohen's d = 1.05–1.37). Low-frequency bands showed no significant differences. Dynamic functional connectivity revealed rapid, frequency-specific abnormalities: early (25–50 ms) gamma/ripple hyperconnectivity and late delta/beta alterations, with hemispheric asymmetry. Thus, migraine is characterized by high-frequency oscillatory imbalance during auditory processing, with both persistent (static) and transient (dynamic) network disruptions concentrated in gamma/ripple bands, consistent with impaired predictive coding and sensory hypersensitivity.